Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1887-10-12
RARE IRISH BOOKS.

R4ARE IRISH BooKs.Sa fgE
Tho III SDemand Ixlsting FOR Thems IA tae
# United Statcs.@5 Nsss8##az Sss ss
In seacoid-story bnek-room on ono
Of the8sidestreets down town there isa.
collectionSof books tho like of which IS
MOTTO be found anywhere III the United.
States. Here arc over 800 volumes iii
the Irish Language, and oyor 5000
workssSSon subjects pertaining to Ireland.
and its people. & Ina talk hadSWith tho
proprietor some interesting facts were
learned about the collection, which
comprises Some Of the rarest Irish
bookssin existence. Among these arc
set Of the publications 81. tho Irish
Archaeological Society, Of twenty-five
volumes, the only set in America.
In each volume ono page is.
printel i'll the Irish language
and the other i'll English. Tln
set is worth 5000 and was published iii
1872 Not more than: 1000 sets were
issued, and Tho only way ono is Oh.
tanned is through the death Of ono Of
the original subscribers. Two very
rare books here are upon the famous
Round Towers Of Ireland. Oae book
claims tho towers to beof Pagan origin
and tho other to- be the work Of Chris.
tians. The two books are worth $50.
and were published in 1880. One Of
the oldest books in the collection is
Cox's History of Ireland, published in
1859 and written from the English.
standpoint. It is worth SIS. A very,
curious volume is ono on Irish coins,
by Simon. It gives a fac-simile OF
Eeyery coin issued in Ireland and goes
back into Pagan times. It was pubs
lished in 1900 and some of the plates
show distinctly the coins of the times
before the Conquest.
When asked regarding the Oldest
Irish work in America, tho proprietor
said that it was ono printedin Rome at
the Propaganda Fida in 1876. It is in.
the Irish language, and was published
for the use of missionaries going to
Ireland. It is a, catechism, of 12mo
size, and was obtained direct from
Rome. It is held as a. great curiosity.
Among the rare works in the collection
is set of four volumes of the Dublin.
Penny Journal published in 1882 and
edited by the celebrated Dr.. O'Dono-
van. In this are tho first published
verses of the famous Irish poet
Clarence Mangin. The set is worth
$25. Another very are work is a.
copy of the Anthollgia H;berwica, a
magazine printed in 1900, and in which
the poet Moore's first verses were pub
lished. It is in four volumes and is
worth $12. Among the books of the
collection are the histories of every
county of Ireland. One of the veritable
curiositics is a copy of a book which
was burned by the hangman in the
public square at Dublin by order Of the
British Government. It is entitled The
Case of Ireland Stated. 1t author was
Robert Molinaux. who was imprisoned
for writing it. 1t was published in
1908. Another very rare work is A
View Of the State of Ireland as It Was
in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is
by the poet Edmund Spencer, and was
published in 1853.
In speaking of big prices paid for
Irish books the proprietor said that he
sold to the British Museum some time
ago a small 18mo volume for 1856. It
was entitled The Bleeding Iphigenia,.
and was by Dr.. French. It was a sort
of o parable on the history Of
Ireland, and not another copy
was to be had. Another rare
Irish work which recently brought
a good figure was Wares Antiquities
of Ireland, which he sold to the Xavier
Union Of this city for $l00.. Fifty dol
lars was recently paid for a volume en-
titled ''Hibernica Dominica" by DA.
Burgo. It was a quarto in size, and
was a history Of the Dominican order
in Ireland. 1t was printed IN Latin.
! Among some of tho books in the col
%lectionfin the Irish language was one
containing a translation Of Moore'st
melodies by Archbishop McHale. lid
With reference to the cultivation OF
the Irish language in this country the
proprietor said that in nearly every
city of the Union there have been classes
formed to study it, and that the knowl-
edge regarding it is greatly 5aeces-
sary. The characters are like those
OF both Hebrew and Greek, and it Is
very difficult to pronounce because Of
the large number of silent letters. He
said that it is still the one language
spoken among the fishermen on the
north and southwest coasts Of Ireland,
where it is necessary to have an inter-
prefer in the courts. In regard to.
libraries of Irish books inSthis country.
it was stated that the Xavier Union Of
this city is acquiring alarge tone Of rare
Irish works especially, and that priest
who lives up the Hudson has $4,000
worth Of books relating to Ireland. The
demand for these works isincreasing SO
rapidly in this country, the reporter
was informed, that old books on ireland